Trek Madone 6.9 SSL (2012)

Pros

High quality frame and components makes for an excellent road machine.

Cons

Expensive

Review

Trek’s flagship doesn’t disappoint.

The return of Lance Armstrong to the Peloton also saw the return in popularity of the Trek brand. Still the top made frames are made in USA not that made in Taiwan is a bad thing but there is still that romantic idea that made in the USA is better.

I have been lucky enough to of owned a few different models of Trek.
But is has been a few models ago so I was keenly interested in testing what Trek had to offer in the 2011 range. The following information is for the tech heads that painstakingly research every last inch of information before purchasing their new road bike and for the price that the SSL6.9 will set to you back I can’t blame them.

Trek has unveiled the new 2011 Madone Road Bike line-up, which has been claimed by Trek to be lighter and more feature packed. The Trek 6 series SSL 2011 which is a part of the Madone series has a claimed weight saving of 100 grams making it lighter than last year’s model.

BB90 is the widest bottom bracket available on a road bike. This Trek-exclusive carbon BB makes the frame lighter, stiffer, and quicker to accelerate.

The frame has been designed to accommodate the Shimano Di-2 groupset. Di2-specific cable stops and a slick bottom bracket battery mount allow for a perfect interface with the industry-leading Shimano Di2 electronic drivetrain system without a single zip tie or strip of tape. It’s the most seamless component integration in the industry

Another funky feature that you will only find on a Trek frame is DuoTrap.This is where the computer sensor is seamlessly integrated in the frame to measure speed, distance, and cadence with no added aerodynamic drag. It works with all the major ANT+ wireless technology players, including Bontrager, Garmin, Powertap, and SRM.

Following up with this clean line feel about the SSL is the internal cable routing, which truly compliments the whole clean look of the Trek.

To provide better comfort and better handling characteristics Trek has designed a new fork. The E2 asymmetric fork is the first fork to provide both lateral rigidity for precision cornering and to also offer vertical compliance to absorb road vibration. The E2 is wider side to side to stiffen under cornering load, and narrower front to back to offer just the right amount of flex. The Bontrager E2 fork tapers from a 1.5" lower bearing to a 1-1/8" upper bearing.

Trek also has in its arsenal a new carbon called OCLV HexSL. It’s aerospace-grade OCLV HexSL carbon fibre is the first in the industry to defy the stiffness/strength tradeoffs by increasing both simultaneously. Exclusive to Trek that is only found on their super-light SSL models.

The ultimate comfort comes from the ‘Ride-Tuned” seatpost design which on the test ride definitely soaked up a lot of the harsh country roads the test was conducted on.

The Trek SSL 6.9 is truly a beautiful bike to ride giving the rider an experience every time he or she clicks into the pedals and sets of for an early morning hit out.